Review: Tyan Tachyon G9600 Pro 128MB

• Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz 800FSB CPU
• EPoX 4PDA2+ i865PE Springdale motherboard
• 2 x 256MB Corsair XMS3500 memory run at 2-6-2-2 @ DDR400
• Intel reference cooler
• IBM 41.5GB Hard drive
• Pioneer 105 DVD/RW
• 420w Samcheer PSU
• Samsung 181T 18.1" TFT
• Hansol 920D 19" flat CRT for 1600x1200x32 tests

• Tyan Tachyon G9600 Pro 128MB (400/600)
• NVIDIA reference GeForce FX 5600 Ultra Rev. 2 128MB
• ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (380/680)
• ABIT OTES FX 5900 128MB (400/850 non-Ultra)

• Windows XP Professional Build 2600.xpclient.010817-1148
• Intel 5.00.1012 chipset drivers
• ATi CATALYST 3.5 drivers (6360) for the 9600 Pro and 9800 Pro cards
• NVIDIA Detonator 44.03 for the GeForce FX 5900 and FX 5600 Ultra
• 3DMark 2001SE v330
• Quake III v1.30
• UT2003 Demo build 2206
• Comanche 4 benchmark
• Serious Sam 2 Demo

Notes

We're running the Catalyst 3.5 drivers for the Tachyon G9600 Pro. Tests were conducted at 1024x768x32 and 1600x1200x32. 4x FSAA and 8x Anisotropic filtering was tested at both those resolutions, too. The basic idea is to see just where this midrange card sits in the performance hierarchy The recently released GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (Revision 2), A standard 9800 Pro and FX 5900 will provide the competition from the high-end sector. Of course, one shouldn't compare this card's performance to the more powerful 9800 Pro and FX 5900's, it's just that the comparison should allow a potential buyer to evaluate if the Tyan G9600 Pro offers value for money, or if paying the extra for a more powerful card is worthwhile.

Catalyst 3.5 drives were used and showed no problems running benchmarks and games over a period of days. ATi's drivers have steadily improved over time and there's little to choose from, on the software level, between ATi and NVIDIA.